Dani McCann

It was such a joy to follow Dani around for an afternoon. Believe it or not, I used to babysit her, and now here she is-- a mother of two beautiful children, named Abby and Preston.

Motherhood can be exhausting-- I wouldn't know personally, but from what I've seen I can only imagine. But what about taking care of two children, alone? Dani works really hard to provide for her family. She receives very little monetary assistance (other than food stamps and WIC), child support isn't consistent or dependable, and therefore she can't afford to send two children off to daycare while she earns a living. Her family is really supportive, though. Her father stays at her apartment almost every night to watch over the little ones while she starts her shifts at 5pm.  If she has to run errands, it's just easiest to grocery shop after the kids have gone to bed and she knows that they have someone there to take care of them. Her sisters also help out a lot, and with all of the support that she receives from her family, she's able to balance the responsibilities of being a single mother.

Dani is such a wonderful, strong mother. I wish you could have been with me during this afternoon adventure-- she is so patient, so caring and loving, and it's obvious that the kids adore her. To be honest, they seem much more happy than most kids I encounter, and I believe that is because their mom has built such a loving home for them.

Abby likes to wear her Halloween costume—a princess dress—all of the time while she’s at home. 

It was surprising how happy Preston was, being woken up from his nap. He was playing peek-a-boo behind the curtain in his room just one minute after being picked up.

Bath time! The kids really enjoyed being in the tub. Abby was trying to climb up on the support bar, but mom told her to be a good influence for her brother. Abby is a very good listener—and mom as right, because he was only two steps behind. As grandpa says, “monkey see, monkey do.”

Surprisingly, I did not ask them to pose for this photo. They kept hamming it up for the camera—so smiley. Wish you could have heard their laughter!

Preston babbled as he pointed to the photo. Not sure what he was trying to get across to us, but again, his expressions are priceless.

Bath time is over—let’s get dressed!

Abby decided that it would be a good idea to cut a huge chunk of her hair off recently. Can’t say I didn’t do that as a child. J So on one side, it’s uneven. 

Getting ready to go to the laundromat. 

The kids are right by her side as she loads the laundry. 

It’s a fun place! But, when you spend over an hour there, the kids get antsy and want to find things to do. Of course, there are a lot of options—if you want to spend more money.

"Insert Money"

The “toy room”. But can you really call it a toy room if there are no toys in it? There were a few colored bins, and so Abby entertained herself by stacking them, but that gets dull pretty fast.

Candy helps to pass the time… 

 

Games. Of course they want to play, but how much money would you burn through in an hour?

They find ways to entertain themselves. Lots of room to run around and many things to climb on...

Or you can entertain them by giving rides J You have to love how much the two of them get along. It’s so sweet.

Mom’s always on top of the little details to make sure the kids are taken care of.

How much does Preston weigh?

Abby thinks she’s strong enough to carry Preston.

Grandpa is usually around to help out with the little details and make sure the kids are taken care of—and to keep Dani company too. They are very close.

 

When mom ran out to put a few things in the car, they both ran to the door. It’s so sweet how much they love her, and miss her even if she’s only gone for a minute—and it’s so easy to see that they are her entire world.

Like mother, like daughter…

Taking care of the details, and once in a while having to stop to help the kids go to the bathroom, keep them from crushing their fingers in the machines, or figure out where they are hiding.

Suppertime at Burger King. Tonight is their paternal grandmother’s evening to see and take care of the kids, so they don’t have a ton of time until they have to run out to drop them off. Grandma works at 7am, so Dani's dad will go to pick up the kids really early in the morning. 

Abby wanted to play, but also got scared once she was up there. Even though Dani tried to tell her how to get down, she still begged for mom to help her down.

Anything for the kids!

Dani grew up in a single parent home. Her dad raised her, and her mom has 4 other children of her own. One of Dani's sisters is only 6 months old, so Abby's auntie is younger than she is. Another sister, Sunny, is 5 years old, and Abby and her are best friends (although they only see each other on occasion since Sunny lives in Montana). A few years ago, when Dani's mom was unable to care for her children for several months, Dani became the temporary guardian for her half-siblings. She moved into their home and cared for them, plus her own baby. She was 19-20. At that point, Abby and Preston's dad was in the picture. He got married only a few months after they broke up, and the whole situation can be very confusing for the kids, given that they don't see him very often.

Dani is such a strong, wonderful mother. It was fun to spend time with her again, see how much she has matured, and to be blessed by her role as a mother. 

Update from Bobbi Jo

I've really enjoyed seeing all of the comments that have been posted, and I am so pleased that you are offering encouraging words to those involved.

I received an update from Bobbi Jo. She said "The pictures really do tell a story!... We did find out that surgery is possibly going to happen on May 10th. I will head down there on April 26th to start the process. If the antibodies are reduced right away, then sugery will take place the 10th of May. If not, I will will be down there for three more months and another surgery day will be set, pending on the reduction of the antibodies. I will keep you updated."

...And I, in turn, will keep YOU updated on the progress as well :)

Check out an article and recent TV news interview as well: http://www.wdaz.com/event/article/id/1810/

Yvonne Jones

Yvonne is a stay-at-home mother of Nick. He's such an adorable kid! Since Nick was a few months old, they started to see some problems in his development. One night, Yvonne woke up to Nick having a seizure, and they rushed him to the hospital. They've gone through several tests, doctor appointments, and a lot of waiting. He wouldn't crawl, couldn't sit up (he's 22 months old now), and cannot eat solid foods. This week, they found out that Nick has Alexander's Disease. It's a degenerative disease that will take Nick's life. He could live for many years still, but because the disease was onset during infancy, his body won't be able to handle it for a long period.

Yvonne is such a wonderful mother, and I'm encouraged by how much she just lives day to day, enjoying the moments that she has with him rather than thinking about the problems or what the future will hold for him. She's so dedicated to his needs, and you can see how much she loves him fill the room when you are around her.

Nick's mom is so attentive, always by his side! She tends to spend every moment with him, and her only real "me" time is when Nick is finally sound asleep at night (around 11pm or after).

He has several new aids to help in his development. This chair allows him to sit up-- which he can't do on his own, and to strengthen his head. And he can look into the mirror at himself :)

The chair can be rearranged to this set-up, so he can strengthen his arms. This supports under his stomach, and sets his elbows down on the soft, supportive surface, so he can work up some upper arm strength.

When he get's tired of working his neck muscles, he can go into this chair which allows him to relax a bit. He has a lot of fun toys to play with!

His bedroom has both a crib and a bed. If he can't sleep, Yvonne will take him out of the crib and sleep with him in the bed. For about the last 3 months, she's stayed in there with him, because he just doesn't want to go to sleep alone.

He loves the fish! Yvonne also has a lot of pets to care for as well-- there is also a dog and 4 cats, who are all great with Nick.

Since he was born, he hasn't really liked water. So baths are not a fun time for anybody! This is the chair that they use when they give him a bath. It also serves as a safe place to sit as mom gets ready, too!

A typical day, playing and watching cartoons.

And strengthening his muscles.

He's often smiling, laughing, and enjoying life.

Twice a day, he needs to take his medicine via a suppository.

He likes to play with the DVD cases of his favorite movies.

Laughing at mom :)

Mom holds one drum stick, and he holds the other. Then he makes music by hitting her stick with his. It would be too difficult for him to try to control both hands to hit both sticks together on his own.

Dad is just getting home, and Nick is excited!

He loves and appreciates his mom.

She always knows how to make him laugh!

Time to do some sitting up and strengthening of the neck again.

Most of the day is just spent hanging out, having fun together. Yvonne is so sensitive to all of his needs and feelings, and is always ready to do what needs to be done. She is a photographer, but she has put taking any new clients aside, as she needs to devote her life fully to Nick right now.

He loves petting the puppy!

He can't crawl, but he tries to pull himself forward to get to items that he wants to play with. Here's mom and dad's wedding album! He can't hold his neck up for very long, so that's why he has to work at strengthening it every day.

Yvonne takes such good care of Nick. Now that they know that it is Alexander's disease, their life will be filled with many more appointments, physical therapy sessions, and anything else that is needed to give Nick the best care possible. She will be a busy mother! Soon, their family will be receiving 20 hours each week with a nurse, so she will have a chance to go on a date with her husband or do some photography again or spend some time with her friends without responsibilities for a moment.

Nick is her world, and she enjoys every moment she has with him, however many or few that may be. She says that people always say how strong she is, but that deep down, she doesn't always feel that way. It's painful-- but if she sat around every day being emotional about it, she'd miss all of the moments she could be enjoying and she'd miss so many memories that she could be making with him.